Restoration Games

Today Restoration Games gave what is arguably their biggest announcement yet. Unmatched is the restoration of Star Wars: Epic Duels, whose design became the basis of Heroscape. That’s not the only thing that makes this announcement so big, however, as Unmatched isn’t just one game – it will be a line of products featuring a variety of themes and intellectual properties. It’s such an undertaking, in fact, that Restoration Games isn’t doing this alone; They are collaborating with Mondo Games, the publishers behind The Thing: Infection at Outpost 31, who will be bringing their extended partnerships to bear.

“Unmatched pits two or four players against each other, with each player taking the role of their own hero. Each hero is represented by a unique ability and a custom deck of action cards, and each set comes with a double-sided board with different battlefields. The first two sets in the line are Battle of Legends, Vol. 1 and the eponymous Robin Hood vs. Big Foot. The Battle of Legends set includes King Arthur, Alice, Medusa, and Sinbad. Heroes from any set can be played against each other, making for surprising and exciting matchups and tons of replayability.”

These first sets will debut at Gen Con this year, but that’s far from all of it. There will be a Bruce Lee limited edition pack and a Buffy the Vampire Slayer set expected to release later this year as well. This is exactly the kind of thing fans have been clamoring for since Restoration Games started taking requests, and it’s fun to see it come alive at last and with so many cool characters to kick it all off. Unfortunately this one article alone won’t do it all justice, so to learn more about Unmatched be sure to visit Restoration Games’ website for further reading and updates.

The original Conspiracy, from 1973, was designed by Dr. Eric Solomon. It featured a unique mechanic: Players move secret agents around the board, trying to bring the mysterious briefcase to their HQ and win the game. However, the trick is that the agents don’t belong to any of the players. Instead, players secretly pay the agents. Other players can challenge a move by revealing how much they had paid off, to decide the outcome. This mingles blind bidding with shared piece control – an intriguing combo.

The Restoration Games design team, consisting of Rob Daviau, J.R. Honeycutt and Justin D. Jacobson, kept the core concept from the original intact but made changes to accommodate the tastes of the modern gamer. Some changes include:

The number of agents has been decreased from 8 to 6 to increase player interaction

Train stations were added for easier movement

Each agent has a special power that activates when they are moved

A significant endgame change

The subtitle of the game signals the appearance of Dr. Solomon in honor of the game’s original designer who appears if no one has won after a certain number of rounds. Dr. Solomon enters the scene and at the end of each subsequent round, a die is rolled, which could immediately trigger the end of the game. If this happens, the player who has paid off the most to Dr. Solomon wins. This creates an interesting choice for players: Do I pay off the agents that can help get the briefcase to my HQ or do I pay off Dr. Solomon and play a defensive strategy?

Rob Daviau, Chief Restoration Officer for Restoration Games says: “It’s thinkier than most of our other games. You are playing cat-and-mouse the whole time. The core conceit – you aren’t sure who you are in control of – is magical.”

The announcement from Restoration Games was made in front of a packed audience at the Dice Tower Live Show on the Dice Tower Cruise somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Last year, Restoration Games announced their intention to bring back Fireball Island during the Dice Tower Live show at Gen Con. Their project erupted onto Kickstarter and funded exceedingly well, to the tune of 2.8 million dollars. It was no secret then that Restoration Games was going to set it sights to bigger and bolder projects. Today during the same annual show, we learned what the next one will be – Return to Dark Tower, co-designed by Restoration Games’ own Rob Daviau and Isaac Childres, multi-award winning designer of Gloomhaven.

This restoration project is based on the 1981 classic, Dark Tower, a competitive adventure game featuring an electronic tower that took inputs and tracked stats, battles, and equipment. Players would navigate the board to bolster up their forces and brave random encounters on their way to the titular tower in the center in the hopes of being the player to ascend it and quash the denizens within. It was no surprise why it was such a hot toy at the time, being this device-driven game in a high fantasy setting. It’s equally no shock that the game was so highly requested, and now it will get the full Restoration Games treatment with no less level of attention that Fireball Island got, with it’s own Kickstarter to boot in 2019 for a projected 2020 release.

“Daviau and Childres—along with Jacobson and Restoration’s Tinker-in-Chief, J.R. Honeycutt—have been working behind the scenes for months to develop the core game mechanics. The game strives to provide players with interesting choices about which quests to pursue, how to best use resources to keep the growing evil in check, and when to make that final decision to assault the tower. Jacobson revealed that, while the game is still early in development, one of the reasons for the announcement’s timing was to allow them to do significant playtesting without fear of the story leaking.”

The only detail we know that’s been set in stone is that this new iteration of the game will be cooperative. Rob Daviau is quoted via press release in saying, “We always believed that, had it come out today, Dark Tower would have been a cooperative game. The real threat is that imposing tower. It will take all of the players working together to defeat it.” This is a very cool development, and I agree, cooperative games like Legends of Andor have accomplished some of what Dark Tower originally set to achieve within a framework of one of the most classic fantasy tropes – an adventuring party. This shift is a good fit for Dark Tower, and with the team of rockstar game designers and developers at the helm there’s a lot here to be ecstatic about. For more information about this project as it unfolds, be sure to check Restoration Games’ website for updates.

Resotration Games is making a name for itself by taking old games from decades past and retooling them to modern standards. They have had great success so far with the redone versions of Indulgence, Stop Thief!, and Downforce, all of which have gotten excellent reviews. But now we get to the one that everyone has been talking about, that everyone has been requesting, and one that Tom has personally been asking for, and that is Fireball Island: The Curse of Vul-Kar. Back in the day this game was more toy than game, in that it was just a roll and move game where every now and then you tossed marbles into the Vul-kar idol and they rolled along their designated paths knocking people over. This may be entertaining for younger kids, but we want and need something more, and Restoration Games aims to deliver.

In the new version of the game you are tourists trying out the new attractions at a dangerous new park (sounds like a familiar dinosaur movie), and as we know, that kind of visit always goes swimmingly. And by swimmingly, I mean nearly everyone is killed. So your job is to snap some pictures to show you went, grab some treasure along the way, and get off the island before Vul-kar’s wrath dooms you all. In this version of the game the dice are replaced by cards, and each card gives you a number of movement points and then a special action you can take. Some of the special actions let you rotate trees for protection, rotate the Vul-kar idol where the marbles come out, launch some marbles, or even move other players into danger. Once you snap at least three pictures you can call the hello-copter and get off the island. But in the end, it’s the most points that wins so you better grab some valuable treasure along the way or you may end up surviving the trip, but losing the game.

The game itself looks epic and the toy factor is still off the charts, but at least the game will play much better and offer choices and strategy instead of just blind luck. The base game itself comes in at only $60 plus shipping, which is actually a really good price considering. Also available in this campaign are three expansions, each offering new gameplay elements for the game. The Last Adventurer can be added for $25 and adds a whip wielding fifth player to the game, player powers, and gives snakes and a giant boulder to Vul-kar for his use. Wreck of the Crimson Cutlass can be added for $40 and adds a whole new board to the game that allows you to explore a shipwreck, just don’t get shot by the cannon. And finally Crouching Tiger, Hidden Bees can be added for $15 and adds to the danger of the island with a tiger and swarms of bees. You can check out more on the Kickstarter page and back for your copy today!

The classic crime-scanning board game from 1979, Stop Thief!, was renewed by Restoration Games in 2017 via Kickstarter and brought into the modern era by replacing it’s electronic component with a mobile app. 2 to 4 players compete to capture thieves who invisibly wander the board, hinting at their location with little more than the sounds of their movements. The beloved gameplay of the original was polished, but the feelings it evoked were expertly preserved. During it’s Kickstarter campaign, a few stretch goals were unlocked to add modes of play that didn’t exist in the previous edition, all of which take advantage of it’s app-based integration and modern game mechanics. One of those, a cooperative mode, is available now and just requires an updateto the app to play! As announced by Justin D. Jacobson via Restoration Games’ press release:

“In this new mode, two to four players work together to take down the “Atlantic 7” before they make off with a pile of loot. Cooperative mode offers an exciting new play style that many players enjoy even more than the traditional competitive mode. The new mode uses components in the original game and requires no new components.”

I’ve already played this new mode a few times with friends and family before writing this, and I have to commend the team at Restoration Games for succeeding to implement a fresh, fun, engaging, and challenging alternate way to play. Now Stop Thief! can appeal to a wider audience, and for something that’s as simple as a free app update it adds a tremendous amount of value to an already quality product. There is actually still a few more modes on the way (a 1-vs-all mode where a player controls the thief and a solo mode), and if they are anywhere near as good as what we’ve seen thus far then that bodes well for this finely-adapted title. If you are interested in Stop Thief! and Restoration Games future releases, including it’s upcoming crowdfunding campaign for Fireball Island, be sure to check out their website for more information.

Those of us who have played and appreciated such ‘restored’ classic games as Stop Thief and Downforce have been anxiously awaiting the chance to see what Restoration Games will offer us in their latest project, a new iteration of the cult classic Fireball Island. We are now one step closer to dodging giant boulders and running pell mell for our lives as the company today announced that the game will soon be appearing on Kickstarter.

Restoration Games prides itself on its creative practice of never merely ‘reprinting’ a game but always re-thinking and re-fashioning it to meet modern standards and allow new levels of player participation, choice, and excitement. As their announcement defines this mission, “Find the “soul” of the game, turn that up to 11, and build a great game around it.”

With Fireball Island: The Curse of Vul-Kar this means that the game ” will offer an experience that has: an amazing table presence, moments that will cause players to scream in delight and agony, enough strategy to keep gamers engaged but not so much that kids and casual players can’t partake in the fun, variety to reward repeat plays, a playtime under an hour. In short, we will make a game that honors its legendary predecessor and the fond memories of its fans, while at the same time offering a great time for people who never played the original.”

The Kickstarter is expected to launch its first boulder down the shoot on April 3, and the publication date is presumed to be available at that time as well.

In the meantime…Get your Pit Helmets and Running Shoes ready for dodging those Fireball Marbles!

Danger Circuit will include a full-size, six-fold, double-sided board and six new player powers. The art for the expansion comes from Tavis Coburn.

From the official Press release:

Sunrise, FL – December 14, 2017. Restoration Games announced plans to publish an expansion for Downforce, their critically acclaimed game of high stakes F1 racing. The expansion, entitled “Danger Circuit” includes a full-size, six-fold, double-sided board and six new player powers. It features new cover art by returning artist Tavis Coburn, who is also doing the art for the tracks this time around. The “Switchback Pass” track includes “dangerous spaces”, which can only be used to pass other cars. “Crosstown Speedway” presents players with split tracks and crossover “loops”, where trailing cars can block cars in the lead. Powers include “Defensive”, which lets players move their cars when they wouldn’t move at all, and “Ambitious”, which lets players advance their cars when the cross a betting line.

“From the moment it released, Downforce has been an absolute hit for us. The number one thing the fans kept shouting at us was: ‘More tracks, more powers!’ We heard you,” said Justin D. Jacobson, president of Restoration Games

Restoration Games has not announced an official street date but the plans are to release it in the summer of 2018.

We are committed to bringing the very best we have to every game we release. The finest art, components, and play. Naturally, when we began looking for a partner for foreign-language publication, we were adamant that it be an organization equally committed to those ideals. We know IELLO is just that company, and we’re delighted to be working with them.

IELLO, under the agreement, will have the rights to publish the game in every territory outside of the United States. Plans are already in place to publish a French version 2018 and other versions are being looked at as well.

IELLO is proud and excited to add a new title brought by Rob Daviau to its catalog. Thanks to our strong
partnerships on all continents, we are ready to bring new buzz and love around this game outside of the
USA.

Restoration Games just dropped a big announcement at GenCon, and that is their next restored game is going to be the highly sought after game, Fireball Island. Those who know about this game know that at it’s core, it’s just a roll and move game (Surprise!), but what made it special was the toy factor. In this game you are moving over this 3D plastic terrain and the angry idol in the center would sometimes roll “fireballs” down the path, taking out bridges and maybe even some players. Manage to grab the idol’s ruby and get it off the island and you win!

Restoration Games definitely has found memories of this game, and after a long year of negotiating with the license holder, they have been given the go ahead to create a new version of the game. Not much has been said about it other than it being worked on by the in house designers, Rob Daviau, J.R. Honeycutt, and Justin D. Jacobson, and will feature plastic elements molded by the talented Noah Adelman. More information will be revealed as time goes on, and if you are at PAX Unplugged in November you will get to find out more at their “Blueprints” talk. The rest of us can read the press release below for more information, and then patiently await the launch of the Kickstarter at some point in the future.

Indianapolis, IN – August 18, 2017. Today, Restoration Games announced they are releasing Fireball Island: The Curse of Vul-Kar in 2018. The announcement was made in front of a sold-out crowd on the Dice Tower Live Show at Gen Con, the show at which Restoration Games first introduced themselves last year.

First published in 1986 by Milton-Bradley, the game is remembered for its highly kinetic action and unique production. The original game board is a three-dimensional, injection-molded plastic tray, featuring peaks and valleys and chutes for marbles. Atop the board rests Vul-Kar, an imposing idol from whose mouth the titular red marbles careen. In the original game, the players are explorers, seeking to traverse the mountain, steal Vul-Kar’s gem, and return to the dock, all without ending up in a heap of ash and cinder at the bottom of some gulley. However, the game play itself was simplistic, little more than the straight roll-and-move, common in that day, with a little lose-a-turn take-that thrown in.

The restored version of the game, now called Fireball Island: The Curse of Vul-Kar, takes the players back to the island some 30 years later. Angered by the transgressors, Vul-Kar laid a dark curse upon the island, rent it asunder, and unleashed a host of terrible threats. What perils await and why the players are there now has not yet been revealed.

The restored version of the game features thoroughly revamped play, designed in-house by Rob Daviau, J.R. Honeycutt, and Justin D. Jacobson. The game will also feature all new art and a new model for Vul-Kar. Noah Adelman of Game Trayz, the man behind the lauded Mechs vs. Minions insert, is the architect of this new version of the island. Restoration Games indicated they would reveal additional information about the game in the following months, including at their “Blueprints” talk at PAX Unplugged, a tabletop game convention in Philadelphia on November 17-19.

The game is being manufactured under license from Lund and Company Invention, L.L.C. and Longshore, Ltd. Under the terms of the license, Restoration Games has complete control over the final design of the game and distribution rights in English for the United States, Canada, the European Union, and Australia. Longshore retains distribution rights for other languages and territories. Other terms of the agreement have not been disclosed. Longshore, Ltd. is proving to be the perfect partner too. The project manager, Wai, had this to say, “I had a lot of fun and good memories with Fireball Island as a kid. This game has since become a classic and achieved a bit of “cult” status, and we are really excited to help bring this one back! I look forward to playing the new version with my own son.”

“When we first reached out to Bruce Lund about acquiring the license, he said our timing was propitious,” said Justin D. Jacobson, president of Restoration Games. “But it took almost a full year to complete the deal. In the end, the hard work was worth it. We’re so thrilled to be able to bring this game back. It’s a cultural touchstone and a true icon of gaming. If ever a game deserved another turn, it’s this one.”

Jacobson also revealed that Fireball Island was, by far, the most requested game for them to restore in surveys, website submissions, social media, and face-to-face interactions. Restoration plans to run a Kickstarter for the game. The date for the campaign has not yet been set.

About Restoration Games

Restoration Games is owned and operated by attorney Justin D. Jacobson. Design is overseen by their Chief Restoration Officer, the award-winning designer, Rob Daviau. Together, they find old games, modernize them, and bring them back for today’s gamers. Their first games, debuting at Gen Con this year, include Stop Thief, Indulgence, and Downforce.

Restoration Games, hot off their successful Kickstarter Campaign for the amazing new version of Stop Thief!, has announced three exciting high-profile additions to the company.

Lindsay Daviau has joined the team as Production Superhero, bringing her extensive experience with Hasbro as graphic designer and art director. Lindsay has been involved with games such as Guess Who? and Heroscape, and I hear she knows the CRO of Restoration Games, Rob Daviau, quite well.

JR Honeycutt is a co-designer on Seafall, and designer of the recent release Fantasy Fantasy Baseball. JR will be joining Restoration Games as Tinker-in-Chief, where he will set the strategy for getting games ready for production.

Last but not least, Suzanne Sheldon will be joining Restoration as Master of Fireworks, keeping the world looking at Restoration Games, and making sure the view is spectacular. Anyone in gaming knows Suzanne, a regular contributor to the Dice Tower Network, part of Boardgame Breakfast, and a recent co-host of the Dice Tower Audio Podcast.

Restoration Games has started a Kickstarter CampaignStop Thief! a reworking of Robert Doyle’sclassic game from 1979. In Stop Thief!, players try to find a hidden app-driven thief by hearing sound clues specific to what sorts of spaces the thief uses. By using an app instead of the electronic device original to the game, Stop Thief! can use icons for the hearing impaired, and can add new mechanisms and features easily. Additionally, the new version of the game updates the dated roll and move mechanism with a deck of movement cards for each player, which also give special abilities. The game includes unique suspects with unique powers, a beautiful point to point path system on the board, and high quality cards instead of paper money.